“Making Home Affordable” was introduced earlier this year to reduce the alarming amount of foreclosures in the United States.

The $75 billion program provides mortgage lenders with financial incentives to reduce the amount that distressed homeowners owe on their principal home balances, which in turn reduces their monthly payments. It’s a plan that is designed to short circuit the foreclosure process before it begins.

Today, the Obama administration announced the program’s first milestone — banks have so far signed up more than 500,000 borrowers who need to re-work their mortgages. The good news comes three weeks earlier than expected because the deadline to hit a half-million was set for Nov. 1, 2009, according to the Washington Post.

Here’s a snip Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, on the progress:

“We’re very pleased to have reached this goal of half a million borrowers almost a full month ahead of target, but we obviously have a lot more to do.”

Donovan is making reference to the program’s ultimate goal of helping 4 million borrowers by the end of 2012. It’s a lofty and certainly noble goal.

However, the big concern is whether or not the loans that are modified will be sustainable, meaning the homeowners do not find themselves in distressed situations again down the road.

Only time will tell.

To learn more about Making Home Affordable and determine whether or not you can refinance your home mortgage click here. The official “Making Home Affordable” Web site can be found right here.

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine recently conducted a survey of 250 homeowners in the Philadelphia, Pa., area who are facing foreclosure, revealing that nearly half of them showed symptoms of depression and 37 percent are majorly depressed.

In addition, almost 60 percent reported skipping/delaying meals because they couldn’t afford to eat, 48 percent said they couldn’t afford their medication and 65 percent of smokers are smoking more.

Here’s a snip from the study’s lead author, Dr. Craig E. Pollack:

“The foreclosure crisis is also a health crisis. We need to do more to ensure that if people lose their homes, they don’t also lose their health…. This study raises the stakes of the housing crisis. The policy push to get people into mortgage counseling should be combined with health outreach in order to fully help people during this tremendously difficult period in their lives.”

Perhaps the most troubling takeaway from this report is that it could be “just the tip of the iceberg” — other large cities/metropolitan areas have higher unemployment/foreclosure rates than the “City of Brotherly Love.”

So what can be done to cure this growing mental health problem?

First, do whatever it takes to avoid foreclosure. Use every resource at your disposal, including mortgage counseling agencies and local government assistance programs, to try and workout your situation. Professional foreclosure consultants can also be reached right here.

It’s free help … use it.

If it’s too late and you and/or your head of household are already down in the dumps contact your family physician. Depression is serious and should be treated as such sooner rather than later.

Finally, keep your head up.

Foreclosure is a tough pill to swallow, but over time things will eventually get better. It doesn’t discriminate, affecting all races and colors … even the rich and famous. You’re certainly not alone.

Dry cleaner. Electrical engineer. e-Trader.

These are just a handful of the different professions of the individuals who take me up on the invitation to learn the foreclosure and auction process.

Every time I take a class to the Palm Beach County Courthouse there is always something new to learn — there is never a dull day.

For example, this past week there was a property that was valued at $150,000 that went for $30,000. The bidding started at $12,000.

It’s because of deals like this that the crowds at the courthouse are beginning to grow. Savvy investor groups are sprouting everywhere. They understand that deals can be had and that now is the time to invest.

So what are you waiting for? You could be missing the deal of the century … or several of them.

Come see what you are missing by joining us for a free courthouse tour — we’re happy to show you around each week!

Linda Yates, Director of Education at Foreclosure.com, conducts FREE auction education classes at the Palm Beach County Courthouse. The class will teach you how to look up information on the properties for sale, then you will attend a live auction to see how the auction process works. To make a reservation for the class call 1-866-382-2439. You MUST have a reservation because class sizes are limited.

… Angela Logan of Teaneck, N.J., has one, raising money with “mortgage apple cakes” to catch up on her defaulted home loan:

“A New Jersey woman hopes her bake sale will help forestall foreclosure and keep a roof over her head … [the divorced mother of three sons] has until July 26 to raise $2,559.54 due her lender under a federal program to help homeowners in financial trouble.”

At $40 a pop, Ms. Logan — who already has 42 pre-orders for her mortgage apple cakes — needs to sell only 22 more in nine days to avoid foreclosure, which appears within reach based on her current pace.

Yum.

If a local bake sale can’t solve your financial problems remember that professional foreclosure consultants can be reached right here. It’s free help.

NBA stars present and past, Dwyane Wade and Alonzo Mourning, recently joined the foreclosure fight in South Florida, taking part in a roundtable discussion and bus tour that highlighted the growing foreclosure issue and how it’s affecting Miami communities.

HOPE NOW Alliance sponsored the Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida (NHSSF) event, which was designed to raise awareness of the housing crisis that has gripped the region, as well as promote the free foreclosure assistance resources that are currently available to cash-strapped homeowners.

Here’s a snip from Wade via the Miami Herald:

“It hurts my heart. I know it hurts everyone’s heart in here. I’m here to help bring awareness to this and to let everyone know that there is an opportunity for them, and that there is hope.”

Wade plays professional basketball for the local Miami Heat and is currently among the top talents in the league. Mourning — who played for the Heat on-and-off for about 10 seasons — retired in 2008 and is the only player to have his number retired by the organization.

Their collective star power and celebrity undoubtedly helped garner much-needed attention for a problem that needs fixing fast to reduce the amount of residents in the area losing their homes.

In addition to the roundtable discussion, Wade and Mourning participated in a bus tour, visiting distressed homeowners and educating them about their options such as renegotiating the terms of their loans. The pair, naturally, also posed for photos and signed autographs for fans at each stop.

According to the report, “Miami was the third stop on HOPE NOW’s nationwide ‘Bringing Hope Home’ bus tour. Earlier this year, the caravan rolled through Newark, New Jersey, with Queen Latifah and Wyclef Jean, and Atlanta, featuring Mary J. Blige and Big Boi.”

Keep the wheels on that foreclosure bus turning round and round ….

Foreclosure is unpleasant for several different reasons. Not only are homeowners forced out of their homes, but their credit scores suffer long after the banks repossess them.

In fact, a foreclosure can affect a credit score by as much as 250 to 280 points for up to seven years. That of course can become a major problem and inconvenience down the road when it comes to buying/leasing a car, renting a new place or even getting approved for a credit card.

It’s a horrible gift that, unfortunately, keeps on giving.

For the sake of comparison, short sales and deed-in-lieu are less of a drain on your credit. Short sales can affect a score by 80 to 100 points and deed-in-lieu is anywhere from 120 to 175. Clearly, it’s in homeowners’ best interests to try and short sale or sell their homes by some other means before losing them to foreclosure altogether.

The good news is that a credit score can never drop below “0.” It’s also always changing — when credit takes a ding for any reason time is a reliable ally that helps improve the rating.

Of course, a person needs to focus on doing the things that will not make a situation worse for a score to get better. The key to great credit is to be educated on how prompt payments and buying behaviors affect long- and short-range financial goals.

Nationwide consumer credit reporting companies such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion allow one FREE credit file disclosure every 12 months. The first step, clearly, is finding out what your credit score is and the factors that went into it.

From that point on raising your credit score is like getting into shape — it takes some time and there is no quick fix. If you are having credit problems or would like to speak with a professional about how to best go about repairing your credit — especially if a foreclosure is involved — visit CreditLawGroup.com today.

Mortgage Bankers Association today released a report that revealed 12 percent of borrowers with home loans are behind on their payments or in foreclosure, setting a record that is a 36 basis point increase from just one year ago.

In fact, it’s the highest seasonally adjusted rate since the MBA National Delinquency Survey began tracking defaults in 1972.

Here’s a snip from Jay Brinkmann, MBA chief economist, on the sobering findings:

“The increase in the foreclosure number is sobering but not unexpected. The rate of foreclosure starts remained essentially flat for the last three quarters of 2008 and we suspected that the numbers were artificially low due to various state and local moratoria, the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac halt on foreclosures, and various company-level moratoria. Now that the guidelines of the administration’s loan modification programs are known, combined with the large number of vacant homes with past due mortgages, the pace of foreclosures has stepped up considerably.”

The report confirms that adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) that have re-set to higher interest rates and rising unemployment figures are likely the two key contributing factors behind the spike. And it’s being felt the most in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada, which remain the hardest hit states in the nation, accounting for nearly half (46 percent) of all new foreclosure filings.

For information on foreclosure assistance remember that professional consultants can be reached right here. It’s free help. To check out the latest on the “Making Home Affordable” program and see if it will work for you go here.

Renters are among the many silent victims in the foreclosure frenzy that is currently gripping numerous areas throughout the nation.

That’s because even if renters satisfy their monthly payment obligations outlined by the property owners, it does not fully protect them from being forced from their homes if the landlords fail to pay the mortgages.

In fact, the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that 40 percent of the households that lose their homes to foreclosure are renters evicted after the bank takes the home from their landlord, according to the Washington Post.

It’s an alarming and unfortunate trend, which will hopefully be minimized thanks to the foreclosure prevention bill that President Barack Obama today signed into law and will extend until the end of 2012.

Here are the top-level points:

• Tenants who pay their rent on time can remain in their home until the end of their lease unless the bank sells the property to someone who intends to make it his or her own residence.
• Renters must be allowed to stay in their homes for 90 days after the foreclosure even without a lease.
• Jurisdictions that already have more stringent renter-protection laws in place won’t see the rules loosened by the new federal law.

For more on the protections for renters contained in the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act click here. To check out eviction laws in your state visit The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty right here.

Fannie Mae was the first to make the move early last month. And according to a recent article in Business Week, the finance company has already “stopped about 20,000 foreclosure sales and halted 6,300 evictions of owners or renters this winter.”

Those are some staggering statistics for such a short time frame. But welcome news nonetheless for those who were able to take advantage of the assistance.

In addition to keeping people in there homes, the goal of the plan is to ensure that properties don’t fall into “disrepair.” The surge of defaults has had an unsightly impact on neighborhoods throughout the nation, knocking down home values and, in some cases, inviting trouble.

Here is a snip from Freddie Mac Chief Executive David Moffett:

“Keeping foreclosed properties occupied and in better repair will support local property values and promote a faster recovery in the housing market.”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac “own or guarantee about half of the $10.6 trillion in outstanding U.S. home loan debt,” which certainly makes this latest news a step in the right direction. Finding and creating ways to keep people in their homes is a good thing on so many different levels.

“As the Obama Administration carries out the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, our actions will reflect the Act’s original purpose of preventing systemic consequences in the financial and housing markets…. The Obama Administration will commit substantial resources of $50-100B to a sweeping effort to address the foreclosure crisis. We will implement smart, aggressive policies to reduce the number of preventable foreclosures by helping to reduce mortgage payments for economically stressed but responsible homeowners, while also reforming our bankruptcy laws and strengthening existing housing initiatives like Hope for Homeowners.”

– This is an excerpt from a recent letter that Lawrence H. Summers — the National Economic Council Director under newly-elected President Barack Obama — sent to congressional leaders about how the remaining $350 billion of Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (the now infamous bailout plan) will likely be spent moving forward. It’s hopefully good news for distressed homeowners, providing much-needed relief for families nationwide who need it most. The housing issue promises to be one of many issues that Obama and his administration intend to tackle right out of the gate.